Saturday, August 20, 2005

One win at a time

I'd rather have a nail-biting 4-3 win than a loss, but having read the report of the game, I'm glad I didn't get up at 4am to watch, which is what I'd originally planned to do. It sounds like one of those quintessential Red Sox games that frustrate you for hours before finally delivering you from the depths of despair - a bunch of runners stranded on base (14, if you're scoring at home) and a victory squeezed out in the 10th inning on an bases-loaded infield out by Manny Ramirez:

(photo: AP)

Although an emphatic grand slam would have been much sexier, we're at the stage of the season where a win is a win is a win, and anything that keeps Boston on top of the division and 4 games ahead of the Yankees is good news.

The game did bring out yet another priceless quote from Terry Francona after David Ortiz's 8th-inning ejection:

Ortiz had to be restrained by Francona and coaches Ron Jackson, Lynn Jones and Dale Sveum.

"I handed him off to Dale because I can't stop him," Francona said. "He didn't hit anyone with his bat, so we're ahead of the game."

Sometimes I think it's worth the Red Sox getting into all kinds of hot water, just so that we can hear one of Tito's gems.